A Strange Picture
by claraowl
Summary: At the beginning of sixth year, Hermione has a photo that she won't let Lavender and Parvati see - and it's driving them mad! Read on as they discover the mystery of the photo! Now includes a flashback telling more about Hermione's childhood friend, Ethan... and a dance contest? Final Chapter is up! Romione!
1. The Deal with the Picture

**Claraowl: I do not own Harry Potter, etc., etc., etc…. but I do own a very hyper owl! (Not Pigwidgeon.)**

~*Beginning of 6th Year*~

Hermione was rummaging through her trunk, looking for something that was missing from her journal. It made no sense whatsoever - how could it have possibly come loose? She'd been positive that it was stuck there properly. Mind you, she'd used glue, since she'd received it over the summer, but she'd used an awful lot. Grabbing her journal, she rifled through the pages, double-checking that she hadn't just missed it. Unfortunately, her search was futile. She resumed her rummaging, this time taking things out of her trunk and stacking them around her like a tower. By the time she'd reached the bottom of her trunk, she'd reached the end of her rope. "For the sake of Merlin!" she exclaimed, yelling at her trunk. "Did you _eat_ it?"

"Did who eat what, Hermione?" Parvati asked from the doorway. She'd entered the room to find Hermione surrounded by an impossible-seeming amount of books inter-stacked to form a tower, hollering at an empty trunk. "Did you lose something?"

Hermione, who had gone slightly red in the face, looked up at Parvati. "Er, yes… something fell out of my journal and my trunk appears to have eaten it."

"What was it? I could help you look." Parvati offered.

Just then, Hermione slapped her forehead, remembering the obvious. "I'm so dumb. Accio photograph!" The photo she had been looking for zoomed out from beneath Lavender's bed. Hermione quickly stuck the photo back into her journal, managing not to let Parvati see it. "Thanks for the memory jog, Parvati."

"Er, no problem," a slightly confused Parvati answered. "You were looking for a photograph?"

"Yes… it's stupid, though, nothing terribly important." Hermione gave a nervous laugh.

"Okay…" Parvati walked over to her bedside table to grab her lip gloss, the item she'd come up for in the first place, as Hermione re-packed her trunk. When she got back to the common room, she rushed over to Lavender. "Hermione was acting really weird just now, Lav."

Lavender looked up from her magazine. "You mean, weird for her? What was she doing, mooning over a Viktor Krum fan magazine or something?"

"No, even weirder that that!" Parvati exclaimed.

"What, then?"

"From the looks of it, she'd emptied her entire trunk and was yelling at it because - get this - she couldn't find a photograph that had fallen out!"

"A photo?" Lavender blinked.

"Yes - and until I came up, she hadn't thought to use a summoning charm! When she summoned it, it came zooming out from under your bed. She got this really relieved face and made sure I didn't see it, and then she said it was stupid and wasn't important!" Parvati finished.

"Ooh," Lavender grinned, "I smell a secret!"

Parvati laughed, "Maybe we can talk her into giving us a hint, like the one with her dreams!"

"Sure, Parvati," Lavender giggled, standing up, "but I kind of hope we can get a straight answer out of her this time!"

"True," Parvati said as they walked over to the steps and up to their dorm, "we never did figure out what she meant. She's just too cryptic!"

As the friends entered, Hermione was closing her trunk, her journal nowhere in sight. "Hello," she greeted them, standing up with a large book in her arms and Crookshanks perched on her shoulder.

"Hi, Hermione," they chorused, smiling.

She smiled at them as she made her way past them and out to the common room. As soon as she was out of sight, they turned to each other. "Now what?" Parvati asked.

"I thought you had a plan," Lavender shrugged. "You're the one who brought me up here."

"Well, why don't we prepare our line of questioning?" Parvati asked.

"Like, 'Hermione, why were you freaking out over a picture?'" Lavender proposed.

"No, that's too straightforward. You know Hermione won't give up private information easily," Parvati reasoned.

"True… hey, since I wasn't there, why don't I ask to see some of her pictures from home? I could even offer to show her mine!" Lavender exclaimed.

"Perfect!" Parvati grinned. "Lav, you're a genius!"

"Why, thank you, thank you very much," Lavender replied, then grinned. "You like my Elvis impression?"

"Who?"

Lavender sighed and proceeded to explain Elvis to her best friend.

Down in the common room, Hermione and Ron were laughing, watching Harry unsuccessfully attempt to uproot Crookshanks from his lap. Apparently, Crookshanks had decided that Harry's lap was comfortable, and had accordingly dug his claws into the fabric of Harry's robes. Hermione was laughing too hard to do anything about it, and Ron thought it looked too funny to do anything about. The ongoing battle between Harry and Crookshanks - and Crookshanks's victory - resulted in such heavy laughing for Hermione that she slid off of her chair and onto the floor. Ron, snickering, stood up and helped her back into her chair. "You know, Hermione," Ron said, "I've never seen you laugh this much before." _I wish I could make you laugh like that,_ he silently added.

Hermione, still laughing lightly, replied, "I think I had too much sugar at dinner." Then both of them became aware of the fact that Ron was still holding her arm. Hermione laughed again, saying, "I think I can sit up on my own now, thanks." Ron's ears turned violently red and he let go of her arm, plopping back into his chair.

Unfortunately, Crookshanks got tired of sitting in Harry's lap, due to the lack of ear scratches, and decided that Ron looked comfortable, causing the whole battle to repeat itself. In the end of all this, a giggling Hermione collected her half-kneazle and bid her best friends good night. She was still giggling when she entered her dorm room, causing Lavender and Parvati to look at her strangely. In all their time of knowing her, they had never seen Hermione giggle.

"What's up, Hermione? You seem… happy," Parvati asked carefully.

"What? Oh, I just had a lot of sugar at dinner and Crookshanks was waging a lap war with the boys," Hermione grinned as she prepared for bed.

"A what?" Lavender laughed.

"A lap war!" Hermione exclaimed, beginning to laugh again. "Crookshanks decided that they looked comfortable and refused to move. The boys weren't too happy about it! It was quite a sight, them flapping around, trying to get Crookshanks off of their robes!" At this, Hermione dissolved into laughter again, Lavender and Parvati joining in.

After the laughter had died down, Lavender asked, "Hey, Hermione, I found my photos from before Hogwarts and I was going to show them to Parvati - do you want to see them, too?"

"Sure," Hermione smiled, going over and sitting next to her dorm-mates.

"This is my family," Lavender began, pointing to a picture of a small group of people. Many pictures later, at the end of the album, she said, "Oh, this was when I took ballet-"

"You did ballet?" Hermione asked, suddenly more animated than before, if possible. "How long?"

"Oh, just a year," Lavender replied. "I got stage fright my first year and burst into tears onstage!"

"Aw, poor thing," Hermione sympathized.

"Why, did you dance?" Parvati asked.

"Yes, from age three right up until I started Hogwarts," Hermione smiled, slightly sadly. "I still miss it. I bring my shoes to school every year and sometimes I find an unused room and dance. I guess it's my stress release."

"Wow, I never knew that!" Parvati exclaimed.

"Come to think of it, we don't know much about you, Hermione. Do you have any photos we could see?" Lavender asked.

Hermione thought for a minute. "I think so," she said, "let me check." She went over and rummaged in her trunk for a minute. "Here we go!" She walked over with a small album and sat between the other two girls.

About an hour later, the album was done. "Wow," said Lavender. "Can you still do the splits like in that one picture?"

Hermione grinned, stood up, handed them the album, and slid out into her right splits. She then, while still sitting on the floor, shifted so that she was in her middle and left splits.

The other two stared at her.

"Oh," Hermione said, "it's late. I should shower." She left the room.

"Did you see anything that she'd want to hide?" Lavender asked.

"Well, Lav, there was one flaw in your brilliant plan - she keeps that picture in her journal!"

"Oops," grinned Lavender.

"Hey, Hermione, I've got a question about -" Ginny entered the room, holding a small, lilac book. "Oh. Where's Hermione?"

"She's in the shower, Ginny. What do you need?" Parvati asked, somewhat surprised.

"Oh, I just wanted to ask her something - nothing really important," Ginny smiled. "I can wait."

"Hey, Ginny," Lavender began, a plot forming in her mind, "how well do you know Hermione?"

"Pretty well," Ginny answered cautiously. "We've shared a room for a few weeks each summer since my third year. Why?"

"Well, it's occurred to us that we don't know her very well," Parvati jumped in, catching Lavender's drift, "so we've decided that we should. After all, we are roommates. Can you tell us anything about her?"

Ginny looked carefully at the two girls in front of her, wondering how much she could say without actually saying anything. "Well," Ginny began, "her favorite color is lilac, though she doesn't wear it very often. She took dance classes when she was little, and still dances with a friend over the summer - last year, they entered a competition and won the best duet."

"Duet?" Parvati asked.

"As in, a _guy_?" Lavender asked disbelievingly.

Ginny furrowed her brow. "I think his name is Ethan."

"Who?" the two girls chorused.

"Her friend from primary school."

Parvati giggled, "Does Ron know about this?"

"Hmm… he might," Ginny said. "I'm not sure, though."

"Is he cute?" Lavender asked.

"I think he's in Hermione's photo album somewhere."

"Did you learn the art of non-answering from Hermione, or did she learn it from you?"

Ginny said nothing and smiled mysteriously.

At that point, Hermione reentered the room wearing owl pajamas, her hair in a towel. "Hi, Gin, what's up?"

"Can you come with me for a minute? I have a question about that book you lent me."

"Oh, did you finish it already?"

"No," Ginny said, giving Hermione a look that gave her all the information she needed.

"Ah," Hermione cringed, "lead the way."

Lavender and Parvati counted to ten after the other two had left, then lowered two pieces of flesh-colored string after them.

In the common room, Ginny held up Hermione's journal. "I know that we swapped journals to help each other out, but don't you think you could've warned me about the picture? I had to go wash my eyes out!"

"Oops," Hermione said in a small voice.

"Oops? _Oops? _You forget to warn me about something like that and you say _oops?_"

"Yes," Hermione answered honestly.

"Ew, Hermione, ew! Why do you even have that? Where did you get it? PLEASE tell me you weren't the one who took it," Ginny pleaded, pulling a face.

"No, Ginny, I was not the one who took that picture," Hermione explained patiently. "Your brothers Fred and George were the photographers. They sent Errol with it at the beginning of last summer; apparently, it was supposed to be a joke. I pretended that I never received it, and I guess they thought Errol had dropped it somewhere on the way there."

"And you kept it," Ginny stated with disgust.

"Well, I couldn't throw it away at home - what if Mum or Dad saw it in my trash? It's not exactly the kind of picture you want your parents to see, is it?"

"Well, what about when you came to the Burrow?"

"And have _your_ mum find it?"

"Good point. What about here?"

"Too many people and roommates to find it."

"You could burn it."

"Too messy, too much smoke - plus, people would ask me what I was burning."

"What people?"

"Them," Hermione jerked her head towards her dorm room, "and -" she pointed to the photograph.

"Urgh, Hermione, don't point at it. I don't want to look at it!"

"You can't deny that it would end in utter disaster on either account."

"Yes, but why paste it in your journal?"

"That way, I always know where it is. I almost lost it earlier. Can you imagine what would've happened if one of the others had found it?"

"How would they've known it was yours?"

"On the back it says, 'To Hermione - Enjoy gawking! - Gred and Feorge.'"

"Ah… remind me to kill them," Ginny muttered as the two started to make their way up to bed.

"By the way, Gin," Hermione leaned over and whispered before the two split up, "if someone had sent _you_ a picture of _Harry_ stark naked and dripping wet, _you _would've kept it, too."

"Yes, but I maintain that, since the picture is of my brother, it is disgusting that my friend is keeping it."

Hermione laughed. "Goodnight, Ginny. Sweet dreams."

Ginny smirked, "Have fun with fire, ice, and the barren desert."

Hermione giggled, "Oh, I _will_."

"You're messed up."

"I know."

Back up in the dorm room, Lavender and Parvati stared at each other, speechless. They hurriedly stuffed away the extendable ears and looked innocent as Hermione came back into the room and collapsed into bed, shut her curtains, and set up the usual enchantments. Lavender then hatched a plan. "If she won't tell us she likes Ron, then let's prove it beyond a shadow of a doubt."

"How?" Parvati asked.

"Jealousy."

"You mean you're going to ask Ron out?"

"Yup. Besides - he cute, and from what I hear, he's got a killer body! I've had a little fancy on him for a little while now, so why not?"

"Because Hermione would murder you in your sleep?"

"Nah, she'd wait until I was awake - you know how she likes things to be fair, she'd give me a fighting chance."

"There's no point trying to talk you out of this, is there?"

"None at all."

"Goodnight, Lav," Parvati sighed, walking over to her own bed. _This is going to be a crazy year._

**Claraowl: Love it? Hate it? Neither? Please leave a review and point out all mistakes! :D**


	2. Flashback: The Deal with Ethan, Part 1

**I'm back, and I still *chokes up, crying* don't own HP!**

"Ron," Mr. Weasley called up the stairs, "are you ready to go pick up Hermione?"

"I'm in here, Dad," Ron hollered from the living room. "Yeah, I'm ready."

Fred, who was sitting next to George on the sofa, snickered, "He's been ready since seven A.M. - he can't wait to see his _girlfriend_."

"Who could blame him?" George sighed dramatically, wringing his hands. "It's been weeks - _weeks_ - since he saw her last!"

"Not true," Ginny chimed in, walking into the room. "I bet he's seen her every night since the end of term."

"How?" Fred and George asked simultaneously.

"In his dreams, of course!" Ginny laughed, making a kissing face.

"Shut up," growled Ron, ears glowing red.

"Am I wrong?" challenged Ginny.

"Shut up," Ron repeated.

"Oooh," Fred and George chorused, "ickle Ronniekins is in loooove."

"Ron, it's time to go," Mr. Weasley called. Ron immediately jumped up from his chair and hurried after his father; they went outside, grabbed a hairbrush, and were whisked off to a small wood near Hermione's home.

Ron's ears were burning red as he walked with his father to his best friend's house. _Why am I so nervous? It's Hermione… everything will go alright. It's not like our parents have never met before. It's not like we haven't seen each other in years or something… it's been a few weeks. It's not like Hermione would change too much in that short amount of time… or would she?_ His mental pondering would have continued, had he not bumped into his father.

"We're here, Ron," his father smiled excitedly, clapping him on the back. "Do you think that the Grangers will show me how to work their visiontellies?"

Ron laughed nervously. "If you ask nicely, I don't see why they wouldn't."

Mr. Weasley noticed the doorbell and, becoming thoroughly overexcited, pushed it a few too many times. "Ah, this is one of those doorbells that Muggles use! I wonder how you tell if it's working?"

Just then, the door opened to reveal Mrs. Granger. Apparently, Hermione had warned her about Mr. Weasley's excitement over all things Muggle, for she did not seem remotely offput by the multiple ringings of the doorbell. "Hello," she said, welcoming them in, "come in. You're early - we weren't expecting you until tomorrow. Come in and make yourselves at home. Hermione's downstairs," she added as Ron walked inside, "down that hallway, through the kitchen, second door on your right. Watch your head on the way down." She smiled at him, and then led Mr. Weasley into the living room, calling for her husband to come join them.

Ron could hear the adults talking as he made his way down the hall, though he paid no attention to their words. Instead, his mind was filled with thoughts of Hermione. What was she doing downstairs? Was she reading - rather, re-reading - one of her books? Did she keep something down there that she had to finish packing? He heard music - maybe she was listening to a few of her favorite songs, deciding which one to take with her? He was rehearsing how he would greet her in his mind when he reached the bottom of the stairs and all thought was swept from his mind. She was not reading, nor was she packing - she was doing something he had never expected of Hermione.

Hermione was in an arabesque, being lifted into the air by a guy Ron had never seen before. The guy spun her around in the air once, set her down, and fell back a few steps while Hermione slid gracefully out into her splits. The music suddenly changed to an upbeat, fast-paced song; the guy rushed over to Hermione, lifted her to her feet, and the two began to do a complex set of spins.

Hermione was counting in her head, timing the different turns, _5, 6, in and out, 7, 8, in and lean._ She leaned back on her dancing partner's arm, lifting her front leg high in the air as her upper body went backwards. She then snapped back up, spun in, out, under, and around his arms, and did a backbend over his arm. Her partner gave her a smile as he pulled her back up and the music changed again.

Ron was staring, agape, at the scene before him. Some guy was dancing with his Hermione, had done some sort of backwards dip thing with her, and to top it off gave her a cheeky grin! Now the two were doing another part of the music. Ron watched as Hermione pushed away from the guy, her face and body conveying utter disgust (Ron's heart leapt), then curl into a ball on the floor as the guy danced around her, trying to get her to come uncurled (Ron's stomach gave an unpleasant jolt). When the guy finally appeared to give up and moved slowly to the other side of the dancing area, Ron was joyous - until the music changed and Hermione uncurled and went after him, twirling into his arms and finishing the piece with a dip that was far too close for Ron's comfort. They then bowed and curtsied to each other and an imaginary audience.

Hermione laughed, grinning at her partner. "I think we've finally got it down!"

"Yeah," he laughed back, "now if only we can keep it perfect until after tonight. Are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Hermione smiled, biting her lip.

"Same here," her dance partner sighed.

"Let's just do our best - that's the most we can hope for!" Hermione laughed.

She then turned around, finally spotting Ron. "Ah. Er, hello, Ron." Her face flushed, realizing how the scene must look, and fully aware that she was wearing nothing but a leotard and footless tights- and that her dancing partner was only wearing a thin tank top and a pair of shorts. "We weren't expecting you until tomorrow."

Ron laughed in a small, nervous manner. "Surprise…." His ears went red, staring at Hermione and her dance partner. _Who was this guy?_ "Erm… anyway… how about a hug hello?" His ears nearly caught on fire at this point, as he raised his arms slightly.

Hermione, laughing and seemingly relieved, walked over to him and gave him a hug. "I missed you," she whispered.

"Missed you, too," he whispered back.

After the two broke apart, Hermione's dance partner said, "Wait - don't tell me, let me guess - you're Ron Weasley, aren't you? You're the second youngest of seven, with five older brothers and one younger sister; you love Quidditch; and you have a good sense of humor." He smiled. "I'm right, aren't I?"

"Er… who exactly are you?" Ron asked, shifting slightly so that he was closer to Hermione.

The guy turned to Hermione with a hurt expression. "You mean you haven't told them about me, Hermione? I am deeply wounded!" He dramatically laid a hand over his heart. "And to think, after all you've told me about him!"

Hermione had turned a violent shade of pink, but was attempting to brush it off. "As you correctly guessed, this is Ron Weasley. Ron, this is my friend and dance partner, Ethan Dubois. We've taken dance class together since we were little, and we went to the same primary school. He's homeschooled by his mum, who is a witch; his dad is a Muggle."

"Er… hi?" Ron said hesitantly, reaching his hand out to shake Ethan's; Ethan took his hand and they shook.

"Oh, mum's calling me - I'd better go see what she wants. Why don't you two chat a bit until I get back?" Hermione asked, flashing her two friends a smile before dashing upstairs.

"So," Ethan began, "Hermione tells me you're her best friend - along with Harry, of course."

"Er… yeah," Ron answered, his mind whirring, "since Halloween of our first year. We're pretty close."

"Hmm…" Ethan seemed to be examining Ron. "How close?"

"Why are you asking, if you already know so much about me?" Ron asked, defensive. "Shouldn't I be asking the questions?"

Ethan shrugged, seemingly casual. "I suppose. What do you want to know?"

"Well, for starters…" Ron tried to decide on a question, then went with the obvious. "What were you two doing just now?"

"We were practicing for the dance competition tonight. We've been practicing ever since she got back from Hogwarts for this."

"So you're entering as a duet?" Ron's eyes narrowed slightly. Were Hermione and this Ethan guy a couple?

"Yeah - just like every year since we were eight," Ethan smiled. "Since we got along so well, we've always done a duet. It started back when we were taking lessons together - our teacher, even when we were three or four - would have us dance together if the part called for it. Hermione was the best in our class when she had to quit, to go to Hogwarts. So, instead of having another partner for the competition, we train together for the first few weeks of summer. I think we've really got a chance to win this year."

"So you grew up together?" Ron twitched slightly, thinking of all the body contact Ethan must've had with Hermione through the years… especially in these past couple of years, when Hermione had… er, bloomed. Ron's ears went red again.

"Yup," Ethan replied. "I live just a couple houses down, with my sister Evie. I met Hermione through her - mum someone to be with Evie during dance class, so I had to take it, too… eventually, Evie quit, but I wound up loving it. I'm the oldest guy at the dance studio, now."

"So you know Hermione really well?" Ron asked, cringing as he wondered exactly how close his Hermione was to a guy he'd never heard anything about.

"Well, I used to think I knew her best, second only to my little sister," Ethan replied, scrutinizing Ron, "but I'm guessing that that's changed since she went to Hogwarts. I only hear from her about once a month, so I know very little of what's going on in her life. She doesn't even usually come home on holidays anymore, so I only see her during the summer. So, I'm guessing someone else," he looked pointedly at Ron, "knows her better now."

"Er-" Ron was saved from trying to figure out how to answer that by the sound of Hermione making her way back downstairs.

"Did you guys find something to talk about?" she asked, smiling at them.

"Yup," Ron laughed, a bit nervously, causing Hermione to give him an odd look, which clearly asked him what was wrong; he shook his head slightly, in an I'll-tell-you-later sort of way.

Ethan watched this exchange with raised eyebrows. _Are they…? Why didn't Hermione tell me?_ He said, emphasizing his words to the point of arousing Hermione's curiosity, "Yes, we _did_ find something to talk about." Now Hermione glanced at Ethan, asking him what was going on; he raised an eyebrow questioningly, to which she shook her head.

Ron watched this silent conversation, his ears burning red again. _Why did Hermione never tell me about this guy? Why did I never really ask her about her life before Hogwarts? Why don't I know _anything _from her pre-Hogwarts life? Why are they so close? Why does this bother me so much?_

"Anyway," Ethan said a little too loudly, "why don't I swing by about an hour before the contest so we can warm up and do a dress rehearsal?"

"Sounds good to me," Hermione smiled, well aware of Ron's eyes on the back of her head, "I'll see you then. Is Evie coming to the contest?"

Ethan grinned, "Maybe, maybe not. You'll have to wait and see!"

Hermione rolled her eyes and swatted him on the arm. "Shoo," she laughed, "get out of here!"

"Yeah, yeah," Ethan replied, giving her a quick hug and leaving.

Ron's insides were aflame with jealousy; he'd hardly ever seen Hermione that playful before. "Er, how's your summer been?" Ron laughed nervously again, attempting to camouflage what even he had to admit was jealously. Why had Hermione never told him that she had a boyfriend?

"It's been going pretty well," Hermione smiled. "What's up with you? You're acting very strangely."

"Me?" Ron asked, trying and failing to sound vaguely surprised.

"Yes, you," Hermione replied, rolling her eyes, "there's no one else in this basement, Ron."

"I was just kind of stunned, I guess," Ron muttered. "I never knew that you danced, or about this Ethan guy."

Hermione had a confused expression. "You mean I never mentioned it? That's odd… I could've sworn I'd told you. Maybe I told Ginny, and thought that I'd already told you."

"Oh… Ginny knew about this?" _WHY did Ginny not warn me? _

"Yes, the subject came up on the train, on the way to Hogwarts at the beginning of second year," Hermione answered, wondering why Ron was asking so many questions. "I'm surprised that she didn't bother telling you." Hermione laughed; Ron's heart jolted.

"Mrowr," came from the region of their ankles. Crookshanks had come downstairs and was rubbing both of their ankles, weaving in and out of their legs.

"There you are, Crookshanks!" Hermione exclaimed. "Where have you been? I've been looking all over for you!"

"Meow, mrowr mew," Crookshanks explained.

"Oh, I forgot," Hermione nodded. "I keep forgetting that you don't like Ethan." She reached down and picked up Crookshanks, scratching his ears.

Ron laughed and reached out to scratch the half-kneazle's ears, as well. _Finally,_ he thought, _this mad cat and I agree on something besides that we both want Hermione for ourselves. _He blinked. _What's wrong with me? This is Hermione - my best friend! I can't want her for myself! _A small voice in the back of his head asked, _Why not? _

"Ron? Hello?" Hermione was waving her hand in front of his face, laughing again. "You keep zoning out. What's up?"

"The ceiling?" Ron joked, attempting to cover up the fact that he'd been thinking about her.

Hermione laughed lightly, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, as I was asking before you zoned out, do you want to come to the competition tonight?"

"Yes," Ron responded immediately, again picturing Hermione dancing; the image was rudely interrupted by the image of Ethan dancing with her. _Well, this way I can keep an eye on them. _

Hermione looked surprised. She hadn't expected him to want to come, much less for him to respond so quickly. "Really?"

"Yeah, why not?" Ron laughed. "After all, you listen through all my Quidditch rants… and you guys looked really good earlier. Er, I don't really know that much about dance, but -" Ron's rambling was cut short by Hermione putting a finger to his lips.

"If you want to know more about dance, I could teach you," Hermione smiled.

"O-okay," Ron replied, his ears burning red from Hermione's touch. _If this keeps up, my ears are going to melt before the day's over,_ he thought.

"Okay," Hermione began, "I'm going to put on some music, and I'll start teaching you." A few moments later, an unfamiliar tune reached Ron's ears.

"What is this?" he asked.

"This is a Muggle song. Are you ready?" She flashed him a smile that made his mind go completely blank.

"Er - yeah, I guess so," he fumbled, trying to get a grip on himself.

"Okay," Hermione said again, "give me your hands." Her face flushed. _How did this turn into teaching Ron how to dance? Why is he so willing to learn?_ She took Ron's hands and backed up until they were on one side of the 'stage,' her rather empty basement. "This is a partner dance, the one you saw me dancing with Ethan. You start over here, and I start over there. When the song starts, I'll count out '5, 6, 7, 8,' and you start slowly walking out like this," she demonstrated, standing very straight and walking regally, taking large, smooth steps. "I start walking out from over there, and we meet in the middle; I curtsy to you and you bow to me. Do you want to try just that part?'

"Er - sure," Ron said, attempting to understand what Hermione was telling him and retreating to his side of the stage.

Hermione hit the play button; the music began. "5, 6, 7, 8," she counted, beginning to walk towards him. They met in the middle and she curtsied to him. She then went over and switched off the music. "Why don't we start by working on fluidity of movement?"

"What do you mean?" Ron asked.

"Moving smoothly, instead of jerkily; it's the difference between this," she started walking very jerkily, "and this," she walked smoothly, her neck long and her body straight.

"How do I do that?" Ron asked, blinking.

Hermione laughed. "Well, this may sound a bit strange, but you just have to stop focusing on hitting certain points - just imagine yourself moving smoothly, and you will. Just stop over thinking things."

"Who are you, and what have you done with my Hermione?" Ron joked, "She never tells me to stop thinking about anything! In fact, she's spent most of the time I've known her telling me to think. No way you're my Hermione - you must be an imposter."

Hermione blinked. Did he just call her _his_ Hermione - twice? Blushing, she shook the thought from her mind and grinned at him. "That was school Hermione - this is dance Hermione. I guess you didn't know there were two Hermiones, did you?"

"You must not be the Hermione I know," Ron replied, raising his eyebrows, "she's usually a lot more serious than this!"

Hermione laughed. "Don't worry, Ron - after tonight's competition, you'll have _your_ Hermione back. As for now, though - back to the dance!"

Ron blinked. Had he referred to Hermione as his Hermione aloud? However, he had no time to focus on that - Hermione, being Hermione (whichever version), had him working hard. He inwardly laughed - he was like a puppy, learning tricks to get the rewards of her smile and her praise.

After an hour, Hermione stopped the music. "You're progressing fantastically, Ron! Do you have dancing blood?"

"On my mum's side, I think," Ron replied, wiping some sweat off his forehead with the hem of his t-shirt, revealing his stomach and unknowingly making Hermione blush and chide herself for staring at him. "What's next?"

"Well, next is the part you walked in on - with the arabesque-lift, splits, and the turning sequence. Are you up for it?" Hermione asked, looking at him. "You can stop any time, if you want."

"Nah, I'm good," Ron replied, his ears turning red for the fifty-seventh time in the past hour and a half. In truth, he'd wanted to do this scene with Hermione - that was the reason he'd been willing to learn the rest of the dance. "Let's continue."

Hermione beamed at him, making his insides melt yet again. "Alright," she continued, slipping back into her role of dance teacher and performing a move, "this is called an arabesque. After that last bit, you land like this," she modeled how he should stand, "and I will come from your left. I will bend my legs like this, and then place your hands on my hips like this." Taking his hands from behind her, she positioned them on her own hips. Both of them blushed violently, but carried on, thankful that the other could not see their face. "You have to grip pretty tightly so you can lift me."

Ron gripped her slightly tighter, ears aflame.

"Tighter than that, Ron."

He again adjusted his grip.

"You don't have to be so careful - I won't break!"

This last remark made both of them laugh. Ron eventually got the proper grip, and Hermione continued the instruction. "After I plie, I'm going to jump up, into an arabesque. My jump is going to get me up there, but you're going to have to keep me up there. Just straighten your arms as much as you can, okay?"

"Okay," Ron replied, his ears blending in nicely with his hair.

"Five, six, seven, eight," Hermione counted off, then began. After a few unsuccessful tries (which included one or the other of them freezing from the close contact and being unable to speak, much less dance), they finally got the hang of it. When Ron put Hermione down after spinning her, they grinned at each other, Ron feeling almost ridiculously happy.

After that, Ron got the hang of things quickly. Within another hour and a half, he knew the dance well enough so that Hermione could stop saying the movements. He knew that the only reason for this was that he was, as he admitted to himself before, a puppy starving for the treat of her approval. Hermione believed him to be working very hard at something new.

The only thing he was having trouble with physically was the dip at the very end. (Mentally, he had the most trouble with the part where Hermione was disgusted with him. _I hate it when art imitates life,_ he thought bitterly.) He was capable of dipping Hermione - she was very light, and fit into his arms perfectly - he was just having trouble with the fact of how much their bodies touched. Hermione was still wearing a leotard, and Ron was far too aware of that fact.

"Ron, you're zoning out again." Hermione's voice cut through his self-lecture. "I know I told you not to over think it, but you do have to at least think about dancing." She laughed, causing Ron to become distracted again. "Ready for another go?"

"Yeah," Ron gulped, determined to get it right this time. Everything did go smoothly, until they came up from it. Ron wound up pulling Hermione up too quickly and his lips wound up on her cheek, causing both of them to blush. They released each other and took their bow and curtsy.

"Ready to go through the whole thing one more time?" Hermione smiled at him, her cheeks still pink.

Ron nodded. _It's strange… this is actually really fun. Merlin, if Fred and George ever hear about this, I'll never hear the end of it. _

During this final run-through of the dance, Ron caught a few of the last lyrics. "And if I could tell you/all that I want to/I'd live until the end of time/for I'd be in heaven/hearing the angels sing/and I'd have you by my side/I'll love you 'til the end of time/until the end of time." His ears went violently red during the final dip. They came up, did their final motions, and turned around - to see Mrs. Granger.

**REVIEW, PLEASE! :D**


	3. Flashback: The Deal With Ethan, Part 2

**Hello, y'all! I **_**still**_** don't own Harry Potter. *sobs hysterically***

Clapping, Mrs. Granger said, "That was beautiful! Is that what you two have been doing down here all this time?" She walked over to the two sweaty friends, beaming.

"Yes, Mum," Hermione replied. "Ron said he wanted to learn a bit more about dance, so I taught this to him."

"She's a very good teacher," Ron added, his ears severely red.

"I can tell," Mrs. Granger smiled. "Would you two be willing to show the three of us the whole dance?"

The two looked at each other, holding a silent conversation. "Sure," Hermione said after a few moments.

"I'll go get your fathers," her mother said, going upstairs to fetch the men, who were talking about Muggle dentistry.

"And, yes," Hermione added as they made their ways to the opposite side of the basement floor, "I will never mention this to Fred and George; if it comes up when I'm talking to Ginny, I will make sure that she doesn't tell them."

"How?" Ron asked, keen to learn the secret of Ginny silencing.

Hermione winked at him. "Let's just say that I know things she wouldn't like any of you to find out."

"Like what?" Ron asked keenly.

"Sorry, that's classified," Hermione grinned.

"Alright, we're ready if you are!" Hermione's parents and Mr. Weasley came down the stairs and settled themselves on the couch.

Hermione locked eyes with Ron and he nodded. She turned on the music, counted it out, and they began the dance. Ron finally achieved the state Hermione referred to as dance soul - the condition where you're able to forget the rest of the world and just dance; you hear only the music; all you see are the stars and, if you're dancing with someone, your dance partner. Ron saw nothing but Hermione and the soft glow of stars dancing around them; all he heard was music. They made it through the dance without a hitch, even with the dip at the end.

After the dance was done, there was a moment of silence; then the three parents sitting on the couch began clapping. "That was fantastic!" Mrs. Granger exclaimed.

"Phenomenal," Mr. Granger added.

"Amazing," Mr. Weasley said, stunned.

"It looks like Ethan's got some competition!" Mr. Granger laughed, standing up and clapping Ron on the back. Ron's ears went red.

"I've got an idea," Mrs. Granger said to Mr. Weasley and Ron, "why don't you two come to the competition tonight? It's free and open to the general public."

"What do you say, Ron?" Mr. Weasley asked, smiling.

Ron, recalling that Hermione had already invited him, grinned at her. _I guess Hermione's a lot like her mum._ "Sure, why not?"

Hermione laughed.

"Why don't we go up and have some lunch?" Mr. Granger suggested. "I'm sure you two have worked up an appetite. Hermione, why don't you go change?"

When they got upstairs, Mr. Weasley excused himself to send a message to his wife, telling her their mistake and that the Grangers had invited them to stay overnight. She replied that it was alright by her, and to give her best to the Grangers.

After they ate, Hermione gave Ron a tour of the house. Unsurprisingly, it was filled with bookshelves and photographs; surprisingly, it seemed to be somewhat of a jigsaw. It took them ten minutes to get through one room, because Ron accidentally bumped into a desk, causing a drawer to fall out. It took Hermione a greater part of that time to remember how everything fit into it. Ron apologized repeatedly; Hermione waved his apologies away, saying that she did that at least twice a week. "You'd think I'd know how all this stuff fits into that tiny drawer by now, wouldn't you?" she laughed.

Eventually, they got to her room. It was a medium-sized room, but every inch of the walls were covered. The first wall was a giant bookshelf. A second was covered with posters from books and what appeared to be Muggle movies. A third, which her bed was against, was covered with pictures and posters from famous ballets and other dances. The fourth wall, however, was what caught Ron's attention.

It had a window seat in the center of it, a place where he could easily imagine Hermione curling up to read. Every square inch of the wall, including the sides of the window seat, was plastered with photographs. He walked past her knick-knack shelves and her book- and paper-covered desk to get a closer look.

There appeared to be at least one picture for every part and event of her life, each one captioned in Hermione's handwriting. "Grandpa and me (age three) after my first recital," read a picture that depicted a kind-looking elderly man and a tiny Hermione in a white, puffy tutu. Ron grinned as he looked at all the different photographs, marveling at how none of them moved. He laughed the captions - "I'm dreaming of an orange sugar Christmas (at Gram's, age eight, after the sugar fiasco)." and "You may kiss the fish (age four, Pat's dock - they told me to kiss the fish, what did they expect?)." He was just looking at the ones she had from Hogwarts ("Do Hagrid's rock cakes actually contain rock?") when he heard her moving behind him.

"Hey Ron, turn around for a minute."

He obeyed, and was instantly blinded by a bright flash of light. Rubbing his eyes, he asked, "What was that?" As soon as he could see, he realized that Hermione was holding an old Polaroid camera.

"I need a few more pictures, is all," she grinned, taking out the picture and waving it to develop it. "Hmm, what to caption this one? 'The day I scared Ron with a camera'? 'Noooo! Not the aliens!'? Or maybe - kyaa!" Ron had lunged at Hermione, snatched the camera and the picture, and put them on the floor. He grabbed her and began tickling her mercilessly; they fell backwards onto her bed.

"Maybe, 'The day I got tickled mercilessly for teasing Ron about a picture'?" Ron laughed, finding her giggle spots. Hermione shrieked with laughter, gasping for breath, trying and failing to tickle him back. Neither of them noticed when the door to her room opened.

"Am I interrupting something?" Ron stopped tickling Hermione and the two of them looked up at Ethan, Ron basically on top of Hermione and Hermione still giggling, trying to catch her breath.

"Hi, Ethan," Hermione said as she sat up, Ron scrambling off of her. She glanced at her clock. "You're about an hour early. The competition isn't for another two hours."

"I wanted to talk to you about something," Ethan told her, "privately, if you don't mind."

"Alright," Hermione said, walking out into the hallway with him; Ethan closed the door to her room behind them. "What's wrong?"

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" Ethan demanded.

"Tell you what?" Hermione asked, confused.

"That he's" Ethan gestured towards Hermione's room, where Ron sat inside, "your boyfriend!"

"Excuse me?" Hermione asked, stunned. "My boyfriend?"

"Yes! Why didn't you tell me? I knew you guys were best friends, but I didn't know you were dating!" Ethan spat, glaring at her.

"We're not dating, Ethan - where would you get such a ridiculous idea?" Hermione asked, exasperated.

Ethan laughed harshly. "Don't kid me! You don't let me touch you unless we're dancing - and you two were screwing around on your bed!"

Hermione flushed. "Don't make it sound like that! He was tickling me, that's all!"

"Fine, I believe you," Ethan sighed. "I'm just hurt that you didn't tell me how close you guys are."

"For Pete's sake, Ethan, I _told_ you he's one of my best friends! What did you expect?"

"I don't know - maybe that you two would be like _we_ used to be?" Ethan's expression was sorrowful, as if he'd received a blow to his heart. "Just answer two questions truthfully for me, Hermione, and I'll let the subject drop."

"What?"

"First question: Is it true you taught him our dance?"

"Yes," Hermione replied. "I thought it'd be a good way to teach him about dance. He actually did pretty well."

Ethan sighed, his eyes heavy. "I know. I heard about it from your parents. They said that you guys performed together spectacularly."

"Relax, Ethan, it's not like I'm going to ditch you for the competition. We'll do the dance together, still, so don't worry," Hermione soothed, guessing correctly what was on her friend's mind.

Ethan smiled, seeming completely cheered. "Second question: Do you love him?"

"Of course I love him - I told you that he's one of my best friends - just like I love you, Evie, Harry, and Ginny -" Hermione began.

"That's not what I mean, and you know it," Ethan interrupted. "Tell me the truth, Hermione. I just want to know. Your answer won't change anything between us."

"I - of course not, I-" Hermione lied, frantically trying to convince her friend.

Ethan was not fooled. "The truth, Hermione."

"Yes," she whispered, her face going pink as she examined her shoes.

"Thank you for being honest," Ethan said gravely, then grinned. "You do realize this whole thing was just to make you admit it and that I'm going to tell Evie everything."

"I hate you." Hermione stuck her tongue out at her friend.

"Yeah, but you're stuck dancing with me, anyway," Ethan grinned. "I think your someday-boyfriend is getting worried."

"Don't call him that!" Hermione hissed.

"Fine, fine," Ethan grinned. "Let me talk to him for a while. I want to smooth something over real quick. Grab your leotard and go change. I want to see you guys dance."

"Yes, Mr. Bossypants," Hermione muttered, going to fetch her leotard and to silently communicate to Ron that everything was alright.

During the time Hermione and Ethan had been chatting, Ron had been silently fuming. Things had been going so well until Ethan had turned up. _Why_ had he not known that Hermione had a boyfriend? He sighed. It was no use… Hermione was taken. He'd have to be a supportive friend, and silently hope that she'd get sick of him and ditch him. Wait… he could hear angry voices… were they fighting? Try as he might, he couldn't make out what they were saying. Then the voices got softer; Ethan the Evil (as Ron now called him in his head) seemed to be asking Hermione something. A few moments later, Hermione came inside the room, assured him with her eyes that everything was okay, got her leotard, and went to change. Ethan the Evil entered the room.

"Hey, I've got a question for you," he said, pulling out Hermione's desk chair and facing Ron, who was still sitting on Hermione's bed.

"What?" Ron asked roughly.

"How long have you and Hermione been together?"

Ron blinked. "What?"

"You know," Ethan said patiently, "how long have the two of you been dating?"

"W-what are you talking about? Did she tell you that? I - er -" Ron's mind was whirring. _If Hermione told him that, did Ginny tell her something and she's playing a cruel joke on me? Wait - what about that picture Fred and George took of me? What if they really _did_ send it to Hermione, like they said they might? No… not even they'd go that far. Or… does she _want_ to start dating? Did she tell him that, so I would go along with it and we might wind up together after some huge fiasco? Or - or -?_

"Chillax," Ethan said, "she didn't say anything about it, except to deny it when I asked her just now, in the hallway. I just wanted to see your take on things. You know Hermione - she's a fireball, fights like a lion, maybe that's her Gryffindor spirit - she only answered a couple of my questions after I promised to drop the topic. So… acting as her almost-brother, I'm going to tell you that if you hurt her, I'm going to make you regret it."

"We're just friends - I told you, we're not even dating," Ron protested.

"Yeah, but you guys will date someday, and you'll wind up together if you don't die young," Ethan stated calmly, as if it were a solid, well-known fact. "So what I'm saying is, don't hurt her - because if she doesn't destroy you, and your sister doesn't destroy you for hurting her friend, then I promise I will find you and make you sorry."

"But I told you, we're not going out. We're just friends - besides, I haven't got a shot with a girl like Hermione," Ron replied gloomily.

Ethan simply gave Ron a look that quite plainly read, "Really?"

"What?" Ron asked. "It's true."

Ethan slapped his forehead, exasperated. How could two people so obviously perfect for each other be so clueless? "Listen to me," he ordered. "Remember how you were tickling Hermione just a few minutes ago?"

"Yes," Ron answered.

"Well, let me tell you something: As long as I've known her, Hermione has never let a male outside her family touch her unless he's dancing with her. In fact, today was the first day she's ever let me hug her. I think that was only because you were there; I think she trusts you enough to know that if any guy -even an old friend - tried to do anything to her, you'd tear them apart. So trust me - you've got a chance."

Ron stared at him blankly. "What?"

"C'mon," Ethan said, getting up.

"Where are we going?" Ron asked, standing up as well.

"We're going to the basement. I want to see you and Hermione dance together. She taught you the dance earlier, didn't she?"

"Yeah, but -"

"No buts. You're going to dance. We've only got a few minutes before Hermione and I start rehearsal, so just do it, okay? At the end, coming out of the dip, you could kiss her and see what she does." Ethan smirked.

Ron's ears burned. "That already happened."

"And?" Ethan asked, grinning as they made their way downstairs.

"I got her cheek and nothing happened," Ron sighed, pausing. "I haven't got a chance."

"Not with an attitude like that, you haven't! Go for it and go dance!" They finally entered the basement to find Hermione sitting in her splits, reading a book.

Ron grinned. "There's the Hermione I know, always with her nose in a book."

Hermione didn't even notice that her two friends had entered her basement.

"Hermione," Ron said, going over to her and squatting down next to her. "Hermione." He poked her cheek gently with the tip of his finger.

Ethan cringed. The last time he'd tried to pull Hermione out of a book like that, he'd nearly gotten his finger bitten off.

"Hermione." Poke. "Hermione." Poke. "Hermione." Poke. Ron sighed. This was going to take a while. "Hermione." Poke. "Hermione!" Poke.

Finally, Hermione noticed and rolled sideways, onto Ron's foot, knocking him over. "Did you want something, Ron?" She smiled innocently.

"You did that on purpose," he muttered, pulling her to her feet.

"Why, yes! However did you guess?" Hermione asked, using a strangely happy tone.

"Hurry up and dance already!" Ethan barked, still amazed that Ron hadn't lost a finger.

"Yes, Mr. Bossypants," Hermione laughed, walking over to her spot and putting down her book. She started the music and counted it out.

Ethan watched as his old friend and his new acquaintance danced together. How had Ron managed to learn the dance so well in such a short amount of time? And, from the looks of it, he'd managed to achieve dance soul. The two danced together superbly; their bodies fit together, they knew how the other would move almost as if they could read the other's mind, and they were comfortable with their bodies touching. Ethan sighed, wishing that he could dance that well in such a short amount of time.

When they were done, Ethan clapped. "Brava!" he exclaimed. "Do you have dancer's blood, Ron?"

"On my Mum's side, yeah," Ron nodded, "but I had an amazing teacher."

Hermione blushed. "Flattery will do nothing…."

"Hermione," Ethan said thoughtfully, "do you remember the back-up dance we were planning in case this one wouldn't work?"

"Yes, we spent weeks on it. Why?" Hermione asked.

"Well, I was thinking…"

"Ethan, please tell me you're not thinking what I think you're thinking," Hermione sighed.

"Oh, I'm probably thinking what you think I'm thinking," Ethan laughed.

"Do you think we could pull it off?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know," Ethan grinned, "it kind of depends on Ron."

"What depends on me?" Ron asked, uncomfortable. "Wait… is what I'm thinking you're thinking what Hermione thought she thought you were thinking?"

"I'm not exactly sure what you just said, but probably," Ethan grinned. "Are you up to it? I can lend you the necessary stuff."

"Will they let us?" Ron asked.

Hermione grinned, "Sure - you don't sign up ahead of time. You just walk right in."

**PLEASE REVIEW! **


	4. Flashback: The Deal with Ethan, Part 3

"Well, are you ready?" Ethan asked, smiling at Ron and Hermione.

"As ready as we'll ever be, I guess," Ron grinned.

"I've finally got all of my stuff, so we can get going now," Hermione smiled.

"Hurry up, all of you!" Mrs. Granger called down the stairs. "We're going to be late!"

"Coming, Mum!" Hermione called up, and then turned to her friends. "Shall we?"

"Let's go!"

It was a short walk to the recreation center, just two blocks away. Hermione bade farewell to her friends and family as they went their separate ways. She took a deep breath as she pulled open the door to the girls' dressing room and made her way to a locker. She pulled a costume out of her bag and changed into it. The dark, clingy under-layer still fit, even after these long years, even if the lilac over-layer hung a bit differently now. She twirled her hair back up into a bun, using an exceptionally large amount of hairspray to hold her unruly mass in place. Then she heard a voice behind her.

"Hermione? Hermione Granger?"

Hermione turned around, bobby pins in her mouth, to see who was calling her name. The pins in her mouth fell out as her mouth fell open. "_Evie?_"

"It is you! I haven't seen you at all this summer! How long are you here for?" the younger, fair-skinned French girl grinned at Hermione.

"I've been here for a few weeks, Evie! I thought Ethan told you - he always said your schedule was busy, and that you said hello. I'm leaving tomorrow - Ron's here with his dad tonight, and we're taking a portkey out of here at eleven."

Evie groaned. "My brother is completely useless."

"Anyway," Hermione grinned, "what are you doing backstage? Are you finally going to enter?"

Evie grinned and blushed slightly. "I'm singing a capella for a dancing team."

"Way to go, Evie!" Hermione grinned. "Wait… why are you blushing? What, are the Johnson brothers the dancers?" Evie's blush deepened. Hermione blinked. "They are? How'd that happen?"

Evie blushed. "I started going out with them at the beginning of the summer - casually, you know - and they suggested that we do this."

"Wow," Hermione grinned, "so that dream you told me you had years ago finally came true?"

"Yes!" Evie squealed.

"Oh!" Hermione exclaimed, glancing at the clock, "We've got to finish getting ready. The show starts in five minutes!"

The backstage area was completely chaotic. The dancers and accompaniments were running hither and thither, getting last-minute preparations done, dealing with emergencies, and greeting people they hadn't seen in a while.

"We're on in one minute!" the director called into the room. "Green! Harris and Harris! Jackson! Hamilton! Dubois! Get ready and get out here!"

"That's me!" Evie exclaimed. "Wish me luck!"

"Break a leg, Evie Owlie," Hermione said, hugging her, using the nickname Evie'd had when she was little.

"Thanks, Helen," Evie giggled, hugging her back and dashing off. "You, too!"

All the girls backstage looked at the monitor on the ceiling and watched the first dance - Valarie Green did a solo to "The Waltz of the Flowers." She did relatively well, ending it spectacularly with a sextuple-pirouette to her left splits. The director called out, "Bishop! Line up!"

Next, siblings Emma, Joseph, and Olivia Harris did a Hansel and Gretel dance, Olivia playing the witch with stunning accuracy. Another couple of girls were called out by the director, who was slightly stressed. She called Hermione to her and they figured out a scheduling problem; this caused Hermione to miss a few dances. She did her warm-ups and was called out. She stood in the wings and spotted Ethan across the way. They locked eyes and Hermione nodded.

A few dances later, Natalie Burns was onstage, doing a lyrical fire dance to a rock song. Hermione locked eyes with Ethan again and nodded again, affirming what was about to happen. Soon, Natalie's song hit its last few notes and she lay down on the stage floor, her fire having crumbled to ash. The audience clapped; the stage went dark; Natalie left the stage; and Hermione and Ethan took their places.

In the audience, Mr. and Mrs. Granger were sitting on either side of Mr. Weasley. When the music started, Mr. Granger leaned towards his wife and whispered, "Isn't this the one they were practicing at the beginning of the summer?"

"You're right," she whispered back, "I wonder why they switched it."

"They've begun dancing," Mr. Weasley whispered; the three turned their attention to the stage.

This dance was to an upbeat song. Hermione started center stage, and began moving on the first beat. She did a few quick turns and slid into her right splits; Ethan came out from stage right and pulled her to her feet. They were doing various forms of the tango, foxtrot, and other such dances, mixed with jazz and lyrical movements. The dance gave the thought of starlight and dreams, rivers and waterfalls, and reaching for the highest rung of the ladder. It ended with a synchronized leap sequence, ending with them back-to-back, chins up, one arm in fifth low, and one arm in fifth high. They were greeted with applause; as soon as the stage was dark, Hermione grinned at Ethan and bolted offstage.

Three dances later, the director came onstage and smiled at the audience. "Thank you for being here tonight," she said into her microphone. "As you all know, we hold this competition every year. However, as you also know, it's not so much a competition as an opportunity to share your talents and hard work. Everyone, as you know, goes home with a placing of some sort - whether it be best in show, most imaginative, or most outrageous."

In the audience, Mr. Weasley smiled, knowing that every participant most likely felt it much more of a competition than the director was making it out to be.

"As you also know, there are no set rules for this competition - meaning, as it was pointed out to me by one participant, a person could even enter more than once, with a different partner each time. After a short talk, we agreed that this could be, if the participant would only accept one of the ribbons - and that the ribbon received would be for the dance the participant showed more enthusiasm for. This seems fair to me, for what joy does a participant need except for that of dancing?" She smiled out at the audience. "And so, I present to you the last dance of the night." She walked offstage and the curtain lifted from behind her.

Behind the curtains, a voice said, imperceptible over the music, "Five, six, seven, eight."

Hermione, wearing a sparkling, shimmering layer over her usual black leotard and tights, made eye contact with her partner as she walked out to meet him.

Ron, wearing his white undershirt and a borrowed pair of black dance shorts, met Hermione's eyes as he walked toward her, wondering slightly at his own actions. He bowed to her as she curtsied to him, and he slipped into the dance soul. All he heard was music; all he saw were the stars and Hermione.

Hermione took Ron's hand after he bowed; they began doing slow movements, for this part of the song mix was a very slow start. They released each other's hands and did mirror movements, with graceful, fluid arms, until the first music change.

The music's pace picked up very slightly, and so did theirs; Hermione took Ron's outstretched hand and they spun around each other once, then broke apart; Ron fell slightly back and danced less exuberantly, drawing attention to Hermione as did several fouette turns in a row; she fell back, and Ron came forward, doing a series of leaps as Hermione drew attention to him.

They then came together and Hermione did an illusion, Ron catching her hips the way she'd taught him as she plie'd and they went into the arabesque turn; He put her down and did an axel leap while she landed in her splits, hands in the air.

The music became faster-paced while Ron was still in the air; he landed next to Hermione, pulled her to her feet, and they began doing another turning sequence; Ron spun Hermione in and out once along his arm, then she spun in and leaned back against his arm, her front leg coming up to six o'clock position. She came up, spun out, in around, and under his arm again. Then Ron did a backbend over her arm and she pulled him up, both of their smiles turning cheeky for a fraction of a moment.

The music changed to a different song - sadder and angrier. In the wings, Ethan blinked. _What's going on? That's not the next song - it wasn't in the mix at all. This was the one we were going to use, but cut because we couldn't get it right! Did they change it last-minute? But there wasn't enough time… they'd have to be improvising it right now!_ His jaw dropped as he saw them doing exactly that. They'd moved to opposite sides of the stage, then turned and started dancing again.

Their movements were sharp and fast; the distance between them clearly indicated that this part of the song was an argument between their dance characters. They moved closer and closer with each count; the music sped up, as did their movements. They did high kicks and sharp turns, strong arm movements and high jumps as the music got faster and faster. It hit the final note as they wound up in contact with each other, and then the music smoothly slid into the final part as Ron dipped Hermione backwards.

_And if I could tell you/all that I want to/I'd live until the end of time/for I'd be in heaven/hearing the angels sing/and I'd have you by my side/_

Ron pulled Hermione up from the dip, kissing her cheek as he did so.

_I'll love you 'til the end of time/until the end of time_

Ron released her and she curtsied to him; he bowed to her and kissed her hand as the curtain fell.

They hurried off the stage together, to wait with everyone else in the grand dressing room, where everyone was waiting for the prize announcements and finale. Evie and Ethan waved them over, indicating the two empty seats they'd saved for them. When Ron and Hermione reached them, Ethan said, eyebrows raised, "Was that last bit completely improvised?"

"Well," Hermione grinned, "sort of."

"If you ask me," Evie piped up, "it sounded like all those rows you described to me, Hermione."

Ron shrugged. "It seemed to fit the music that Hermione had. She found the other version of the music after we were having problems with the version you guys did, she pulled out that one and we got it down pretty quickly."

Evie giggled, fanning herself, "It was so fiery that I could feel the heat!"

Hermione blushed and switched the topic to what had been going on during the past year.

Meanwhile, Ethan leaned over to Ron. "I see you went for her cheek again," he smiled. "Still pretty bold for something that's getting recorded."

Ron's eyes grew wide. "_What?_"

Ethan raised his eyebrows. "Didn't you know this was getting recorded? It's permanently recorded, now."

Ron's jaw dropped.

"What's the matter? Are you afraid your siblings will get ahold of a copy?" Ethan snickered. "Because if you are, it's too late. I arranged to have it sent in a way they could view it. They'll have it by seven tomorrow morning, if not tonight."

"I'm so dead," Ron groaned, dropping his head into his hands.

"Ethan, you're evil," Hermione stated, having heard this last part of the exchange. "Why on earth would you send a copy to his siblings?"

"Oh, not all of his siblings," Ethan grinned, "just Ginny."

Evie chimed in, "You really _are_ evil. You know how much damage we little sister can cause."

Ethan laughed.

The monitor on the ceiling crackled to life. "And now," the director announced, "for the awards!"

A silence swept over the backstage area.

"The awards will be read in order of performance," the director explained, "with the best of show being awarded last - along with another title, this year."

A series of murmurs broke out among the participants. What would the other title be?

The director began reading off a long list of dances and their awards. The dance Evie sang for won for most artistic, seeing as it combined two forms of the arts.

"In 'Twiflit Tangles,'" the director announced; Ethan sat up straighter - this was the duet he and Hermione had done, "Ethan Dubois is awarded most energetic for his part of the duet." The entire dressing room broke out into whispers.

Ron's mind was whirring as the whispering stopped and the director continued. _The director said that everyone gets a prize,_ he thought, _and that anyone who participated in more than one entry would be awarded the prize for the one in which they showed the most enthusiasm. Hermione's first dance was with Ethan - she didn't get the prize from that one, so she must've showed more enthusiasm in her other dance - the one with me! _

The director's voice interrupted Ron's thoughts. "And for our best in show and most realistic, we have - 'Life and Love' performed by Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley!" Ron's mouth fell open. _What?_

Hermione's eyes grew wide as Evie shrieked, "You did it!"

Ethan slapped Ron on the back. "Congratulations, Ron," he smiled, "you guys achieved what Hermione never could with me. Enthusiasm counts the most here - and you guys were the most enthusiastic dancers I've ever seen." He kept smiling, his eyes sad; he'd always wanted to win best of show. _But,_ he realized, sadness fleeing his eyes, _there's always next year - there's no age limit on this. I've got the rest of my life to win best of show - no matter who my dance partner is. _"Take good care of her, Ron," he whispered somewhat gruffly.

Ron nodded. "I will."

Evie was waving her hand in front of Hermione's face. "Hermione? Are you okay? Are you in shock?"

Hermione blinked, then shrieked, finally letting out her excitement. Fortunately for her, the noise in the room was already so loud that no one except her three friends noticed. She then started talking so quickly in such a high pitch that only Evie could understand her. Ethan snickered.

Ron watched with great amusement. He'd never seen Hermione get so excited - not even when they got their first homework assignment back. _Merlin, she's gorgeous when she's excited,_ he thought.

"You're drooling," Ethan whispered.

Ron jumped and made to wipe his mouth - no drool. He glared at Ethan, who laughed.

The director entered the room at this point and announced, "It's time for finale! Line up in groups of four this year for bows!"

Hermione put herself between Evie and Ron, with Ethan on Evie's other side. "What should we do for our bow?"

"How about this?" Evie asked, grabbing Hermione's hand, swinging both their hands upward, and jumped as their hands passed their legs on the way down, and then straightening up with their hands again upward as she grinned.

"Looks good to me!" Hermione laughed. "Are you guys good with that?"

"Sure," Ethan smiled.

"Looks good to me," Ron grinned, taking Hermione's hand. The others link hands as they made their way out to the hallway.

Bouncy, upbeat music was playing loudly for finale. The four friends were at the very end of the line for bows. They watched as all the other participants went out and took their bows, doing various things. Finally, it was their turn.

The music and the lights were both blaring and shining down on them, sending a fantastic energy through them. They took their sweeping bow and joined the others, all of them dancing to the music like a giant case of nutcases.

When the curtain fell the final time, the applause was thunderous. The participants made their ways offstage and back to their respective small dressing rooms to collect their things from the lockers and change back into street clothes.

As soon as she entered the dressing room, Hermione was swarmed by girls coming to both congratulate her and interrogate her about Ron, though after the initial bout of the former, the latter completely overwhelmed it.

"Where'd you find him, Hermione?"

"How long has he been dancing?"

"Are you two together?"

"Does he go to your boarding school?"

"Were those kisses planned?"

"Do you like him?"

Evie giggled. In an undertone to Hermione, she asked, "_Were_ those kisses part of the choreography, was he improvising, or was he making a move?"

"Well," Hermione grinned, "they definitely were _not_ part of the choreography."

"You never answered our questions," Natalie Burns grinned.

Hermione, deciding to heck with it, replied, "I've known him since I was eleven; we met on the train on the way to my boarding school. He's been dancing less than twenty-four hours; apparently, he's got dancing blood from his mum's side. No, we're not together, and no, those kisses were not planned… but, yes, I do like him. If any of you lot tell anyone, especially _him_, you will seriously regret it."

"Yes, ma'am," they all giggled.

"Well, until next year, girls," Hermione said as she and Evie made their way out.

"Will we see you around town?"

"No," Hermione grinned, "I'm going to go stay with his family until school starts."

The others were left open-mouthed and giggling.

Hermione and Evie met up with Ron and Ethan in the hallway and then went out into the theater, where they met with Mr. and Mrs. Granger, Mr. and Mrs. Dubois, and Mr. Weasley. They all went out for ice cream and then came home to rest.

When Hermione got back to her room, she found Pigwidgeon twittering around, looking at her picture wall. "Hi, Pig," she greeted him, yawning, "is that from Ginny?"

"Hoo, hoo!" Pigwidgeon hooted happily, allowing her to take the letter from his leg. He then perched on a grumpy Crookshanks's head. Crookshanks gave a long-suffering sigh and half-heartedly attempted to swat him off.

Hermione opened Ginny's letter and proceeded to laugh so severely that Ron knocked on her door to see if she was alright.

"Ginny's gotten her copy already. She's extremely surprised and impressed - and asked the same questions that pretty much every other female I've talked to since the dance. By the way," Hermione added, giggling, "don't worry about the blackmail factor - I've got enough on her for her to keep her trap shut about this. I'm going to remind her of that in my reply."

"You're amazing, Hermione," Ron yawned, running his fingers through his hair.

Hermione laughed, winked at him, and shooed him to the guest room.

The next morning at ten forty-five A.M., Hermione bade farewell to her family and to the Dubois family. She then set off with Mr. Weasley and Ron, the three of them managing her trunk and her extremely grumpy Crookshanks. They took their eleven o'clock portkey to the Burrow.

After Hermione had been thoroughly hugged and welcomed and she'd settled in, Ginny frog-marched her to their room and simply said, "Spill."

Hermione grinned, "Well, it started with the mix-up of the days…"

(But you know that part already, don't you?)

**Love? Hate? Think it completely absurd? Review and let me know! :D**


	5. The Final Deal with the Picture

**And now… the final chapter!**

**As ever, I do not own Harry Potter.**

Parvati sighed, vaguely aware of Professor Binns as he droned on, giving his lesson regardless of the fact that only one student was listening. She cast her eyes about, allowing them to flit over each of her classmates before slipping sideways to glance at her best friend. Lavender was biting her lip, staring out the window. Parvati smiled sympathetically at her friend; Lavender had had a rather grand blowout with Ron Weasley two days ago, ending their relationship. Parvati sighed; even though Lavender had originally said that the act of dating Ron was merely to prove her point about the said ginger and a particular bushy-haired roommate of theirs, she seemed to have forgotten that. Parvati had known that this would happen; she had tried to dissuade her friend, but to no avail: Lavender had continued with her plot and gotten her heart broken for her troubles.

Parvati glanced over at the source of her friend's trouble, the aforementioned ginger. Ron was leaning on one arm, his hand supporting the side of his face, his gaze, as ever, fixed on Hermione. Parvati giggled; since the utter fiasco two days ago, Ron had been attached to Hermione like a barnacle… not literally, of course, but it did create an interesting mental picture.

Parvati grabbed a scrap of parchment and wrote a note, sliding it over to Lavender.

_Are you okay?_

Lavender sighed, and then wrote back:

**I just can't believe that he'd betray me like that… or that Hermione would be up there alone with him. Miss Prim and Proper, indeed….**

_Lav, I don't think that they did it. Wouldn't Hermione be sore right now if they did?_

**Why would SHE be sore? She didn't get her boyfriend stolen by her roommate.**

_I mean physically sore, Lav… and she kind of did. Don't you remember what they were like when school first started?_

**What are you talking about?**

_You know what I mean… they were always sharing glances, whispering, and blushing._

**I know… I really did like him though….**

_I know, Lav, I know._

**It's just that, in this world, you don't know how much time you've got left - and they're not doing anything about it. **

_That's true, but… should we have interfered?_

**I'm sorry about this fiasco, Parvati. **

_S'alright. _

…**I think I might have an idea.**

_For what?_

**The Romione conundrum. **

Parvati smiled, giggling silently at how quickly her friend's broken heart had healed.

_Do tell._

**Well…**

· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·

"Hello, Ron," Parvati smiled, approaching Ron when he was - for once - alone. "I'm doing a friendship survey for the school paper - would you be willing to answer a few questions for me?"

"Er - we have a school paper?" Ron asked, glancing around, worried about the utter lack of any other humanoid life forms in the vicinity.

"Well," Parvati smiled, attempting to use his bewilderment to her advantage, "not yet. I'm working on starting it with a few other people - I think you know Colin Creevey?"

"Er… yeah…."

"Oh, good, so you will participate! Okay, choose a friend - just whoever pops into your head first."

"O-okay," Ron replied, an image of Hermione already plastered in his mind, his burning ears telling Parvati all she needed to know.

"Alright! What is his or her favorite color?"

"Erm, I believe it's lilac," Ron muttered, still glancing around for any humanoid life forms.

_Lilac… Hermione._ "What was his or her favorite book prior to Hogwarts?"

"_A Little Princess_ and _Le Morte d'Arthur_ were tied," Ron replied, after a moment's thought. "She had a thing for Muggle magic ideas, though."

Parvati grinned. "How many times have you been in her room?"

"Once…" Ron's ears burned violently.

"What's her birthstone?"

"Sapphire."

"Birth flower?

"Aster, I think."

"What are her hobbies?"

"Reading, naturally, and… well, have you ever seen her dance? She's phenomenal. She took classes before Hogwarts," Ron began talking, his eyes glazing over as he completely forgot who he was talking to. "She won best of show last summer for a duet she did with some amateur - that shows how spectacular she is, she managed to pull that off. Plus, she was in two duets last year… Merlin, she's sexy when she's dancing…." He whispered the last part, though this did nothing to stop Parvati from hearing him.

"Last one - what's her astrological sign?"

"Virgo…."

"Okay, thanks! Bye!" Parvati skipped off, giggling.

A few moments later, Harry came up behind Ron. "What's with you?" He waved a hand in front of Ron's face. "HELLO, EARTH TO RON!"

Ron started violently, careening and falling backwards onto the floor. "Oh, hello, Harry. Didn't see you there."

Harry rolled his eyes, sighing at his friend. "What's going on? You were zoning out."

"Erm…" Ron's ears burned as he stood up, a guilty sense of pleasure still coursing through him at the memory of Hermione dancing.

Ginny came up behind Harry and slid her hand over his eyes, purring, "Guess who?" Ron used this distraction to take his leave.

As soon as Ron was out of earshot, Harry turned around and kissed Ginny. "Plan in motion, then?"

Ginny grinned hugely. "You'd better believe it. I'm going to go locate Hermione and interrogate her. Wish me luck!"

Harry kissed her cheek and grinned at her as she skipped off, laughing evilly. He chuckled, enjoying the mischievous nature of his girlfriend.

"Hermione Granger," Ginny sang, bursting into the Room of Requirement, "I've got a quiz for you!"

Hermione looked at Ginny upside down from her layout and grinned. "You seem happy."

Ginny laughed. "Of course I'm happy! I've got a free day - and I just saw Harry." She smiled, her eyes going in and out of focus for a moment.

"Ooh-la-la," Hermione teased, pulling herself up and turning to face her friend. "Anyway, you've got another quiz… I'm assuming it's romance. "

"You bet your bunny it is," Ginny nodded, pulling out her magazine. "Question one: Do you know his birthday?"

"Yes," Hermione answered. "March first."

"Question Two: What's his favorite thing to read at home?"

"A comic book series - _The Adventures of Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle_."

"Question Three: What is his patronus?"

"Jack Russell terrier," Hermione answered, blushing.

Ginny glanced up from her magazine and raised her eyebrows. "Why are you blushing?"

"Well… Jack Russell terriers tend to chase otters," Hermione half-whispered, her face red.

Ginny smirked. "Oh, that's right - your patronus is an otter, isn't it?"

"Yes," Hermione admitted, looking away, "what of it?"

"Well, don't you find it interesting," Ginny paused, "that his patronus chases yours? Is it magic imitating life - or life imitating magic?"

"Next question, please," Hermione requested, having regained control of her face coloration.

"Alright, alright - Question Four: What is his favorite fruit?"

Hermione thought for a moment before answering. "Pears, I believe."

Ginny nodded. "Question Five: What is his favorite spice?"

"Isn't it cinnamon?" Hermione answered, feeling suspicious. "What's up with these questions?"

"Last one," Ginny said hastily, "Does he have any pictures of you in his room - and I _know_ you have a picture of him, don't deny it - and where did he get it?"

"Yes," Hermione muttered, glaring daggers at her friend, "and you very well know where he got it - you took that picture."

"Aw, cheer up, Hermione," Ginny laughed, slinging an arm around her friend's shoulders, "you had something on."

"A bikini!" Hermione spat, red in the face.

Ginny withdrew her arm from her friend's shoulders and backed away, knowing that an explosion could occur at any moment. "Relax, Hermione -"

Hermione interrupted her, embarrassment spreading across her face. "A red bikini!"

Ginny giggled, unable to help herself. "A red _string_ bikini."

Hermione glared at her friend again.

"Hey, don't blame me! You're the one who has it!"

"Only the bottom was string…" Hermione let her sentence trail off, her expression becoming slightly more terrifying.

"Yes, but the top was strapless - and we mustn't forget the keyhole!" Ginny laughed for a few moments; then, after Hermione calmed down, she asked, "Why do you even have that anyway?"

"The only reason have it is because I went bathing suit shopping with Evie and she insisted that I get a bikini. Honestly, if I get a two-piece, a tankini is much more functional."

Ginny grinned. "I get the feeling you're not telling me the whole story. Spill the beans, Hermione Jean."

Hermione sighed, rolling her eyes. "Evie is under the impression that her brother has or had a crush on me at one point, so she insisted that I wear that to the beach with them."

"If Ron knew you wore that around Ethan," Ginny hooted, "he'd have a conniption!"

"Did you drink giggle juice or something?" Hermione shook her head. "I doubt he'd have a conniption, Gin. He seemed fine with the leotard last summer."

"Nah, he just let you think he was," Ginny smiled, having regained her composure. "When I asked him about dancing with you, his eyes glazed over, and when I asked him about you dancing with Ethan, his ears turned red and he looked ready to kill something."

"You're exaggerating," Hermione stated.

"True - he only seemed to want to lightly mutilate something, not kill it. My apologies, Hermione." Ginny bowed deeply.

Hermione patted her on the head. "Just don't let it happen again." She stretched her arms and asked, "How did I do on the quiz?"

"Oh, you got it completely correct, as ever. You know him inside-out and upside-down - at least, that is if you're not telling me something." Ginny wiggled her eyebrows.

"I thought you didn't like thinking about that when it comes to your brothers," Hermione monotoned, attempting to get the magazine from Ginny.

"Oh, I'm fine as long as I don't have to _look_ at anything concerning that topic - for example, I don't particularly enjoy seeing their naked pictures."

Hermione blushed. "You know very well that Fred and George sent that to me."

"I also know very well that if you had wanted to, you could have vanished it by now."

"The key words being 'if I wanted to' do so."

"Hey," Ginny said, switching topics as her train of thought switched tracks, "didn't you once tell me that Ethan tried to kiss you?"

"Yes," Hermione sighed, "but, as I said before, we were seven. Also, as I said before, he'd just let me off a particularly fast merry-go-round, which wreaked havoc on my stomach, and caused me to throw up on his shoes." Hermione laughed lightly. "Funny, he never tried to kiss me again."

Ginny's train of thought again switched tracks. "I still can't believe my brother kissed you onstage."

Hermione blushed lightly. "He did that once, during practice, but I think it was an accident."

"You think it was?" Ginny laughed. "He probably spent a long time getting his nerve up enough to kiss your cheek."

"Don't be ridiculous," Hermione sighed. "He didn't say anything about it afterwards."

Ginny raised her eyebrows. "Did _you_ say anything?"

"No," Hermione replied, finally managing to get her hands on the magazine. "Hey, this isn't a romance quiz -"

"There-you-have-it-got-to -go-bye!" Ginny grabbed the magazine from Hermione's hands and departed at top speed.

Hermione stared after her friend for a moment before getting up and continuing her stretches. _What was that all about?_

Ginny dashed out of the room and up to the entrance to Gryffindor tower. After giving the Fat Lady the password, she hurried over to the fireside, where her partners in crime sat, waiting for her. "Perfect score," Ginny reported as she collapsed dramatically into Harry's lap. Harry planted a kiss on Ginny's neck and breathed in her scent. Ginny closed her eyes briefly, then opened them and turned to Parvati and Lavender. "Well?"

"Same news for him," Parvati reported, holding up her notes. "He also said, almost so quietly that I couldn't hear him, that she looks sexy when she dances."

"Did you know," Ginny asked, pushing her fingers through Harry's hair, "that there's a connection between their partonuses?"

"Really? How so?" Parvati asked.

"Ron's is a Jack Russell terrier, Hermione's is an otter," Ginny replied, "and - funnily enough - terriers happen to chase otters."

"More proof!" Lavender exclaimed, looking up from the notes she'd captured from Parvati and Ginny. "Wait, what's this about bikinis?"

"Oh, just a picture that Hermione isn't too happy about."

"Well, that explains why Ron refuses to let anyone look under his pillow," Harry spoke up. "Sorry to uproot you, Gin, but I've got to go rescue your idiot brother. Last time I saw him, he was still standing rooted to the spot, drooling." He gently slid Ginny off his lap and stood up, walking away from the plotting group.

"Hey," Parvati whispered, leaning forward, "what was that picture, anyway? Ron in a Speedo?"

Ginny looked at them disdainfully. "If you don't know, I'm not going to tell you."

Lavender's eyes widened. "Oh, is that what she meant by 'fire, ice, and the barren desert'?"

"Congratulations - you two are even denser than a certain brother of mine," Ginny stated, rolling her eyes.

"Gee, thanks, Ginny," Lavender sighed.

At that point, Harry and Ron entered the common room. Harry walked over to Ginny and slipped his hands over her eyes, beginning a rather blatant flirting session. Ron walked straight towards the stairs and headed up to the boys' dormitory. A few minutes later, he came back down and walked over to Ginny. The two conversed quietly, then Ron left through the portrait hole.

"What was that all about?" Parvati asked.

"Then again," Ginny laughed, "we may not have to do anything."

The others looked at her, eyes wide.

"C'mon, Harry," Ginny giggled, pulling him up by his tie. "We've got some walking to do."

Harry stood up willingly and followed Ginny out of the common room, leaving the two 6th-year Gryffindor girls to their own devices. They exchanged glances, then a fluorescent light bulb appeared, stretching over both of their heads, and switched on. They stood up and walked over to Colin Creevey.

"Hey, Colin, would you be willing to do us a favor?" Lavender asked, grinning.

"What is it?" Colin asked, glancing up from his camera.

"Would you go take some pictures of Ron and Hermione? I have a feeling that something huge is about to happen!" Parvati giggled.

"Sure, where are they?" Colin asked.

"Er, I don't know…" Lavender admitted, "but I think Ginny does. She's with Harry right now."

"If you give us a copy of the pictures, we'll pay you for them," Parvati added.

"Alright," Colin agreed. "I'm off." He stood up and exited through the portrait hole.

Lavender and Parvati grinned at each other, and then ascended the stairs the girls' dormitories, going mwa-ha-ha.

"Ginny! Harry! Wait up!" Colin appeared suddenly behind the two of them on the second floor.

"Hey, Colin, what's up?" Ginny turned around first, raising her eyebrows.

"W-where are Ron and Hermione?" Colin asked, panting slightly from running.

"So I take it that Lavender and Parvati recruited you," said Harry, laughing slightly.

Colin grinned. "How'd you guess?"

"Why else would you ask about them?"

"They're up in the Room of Requirement, Colin," Ginny told him. "Now, if you don't mind, Harry and I have some walking to do - and send me a copy of those pictures, won't you?"

"Sure thing," Colin replied as he dashed off to locate his assignment.

Ron was standing in the shadows along one of the walls of the Room of Requirement, watching the scene before him unfold, questions swirling through his mind. _Where on earth did she get that costume? Are those - wings? Wasn't she wearing those in that dream I had a bit ago, the on with all that paint? Why does this song sound familiar - oh… it's - our song…._

Ron stepped out of the shadows hesitantly, wondering what would happen if he acted on his thoughts. He heard the part of the music and realized that he didn't really have a choice - how could she be dipped without someone to dip her? He pulled off his shoes, threw off his cloak, and stepped forward to take his part in their dance.

Though she knew she was alone, Hermione's imagination was running on overdrive - the Room of Requirement had been pleasant enough to provide a stage, a music player, and a costume for her, so all she needed was a partner. Fortunately for her, her imagination was strong enough to provide for her. Her eyes closed, she could sense the eyes of the audience on her and the warmth of a partner coming up next to her, capturing her and captivating her. She usually did a layout for her dip when she danced alone, but this time… _It feels like someone's with me - maybe I can lean on my imagination again, like last time. _Hermione smiled as she spun in and out, then leaned backwards. Her eyes flickered open for a few seconds, proving to her that her imagination was indeed running on overdrive, due to the utter improbability of the situation. She smiled and closed her eyes again, surrendering herself to the dance - she knew it would be better to keep her eyes closed, in case her imagination failed her.

Ron saw Hermione's eyes flicker open; he smiled back at her as the dance continued. _I've got to admit - I actually prefer dancing with her to watching her dance. This way, I don't have to watch her with anyone else - like that Ethan guy. _The music shifted then, to a new song. _Hey, this isn't the right song… isn't this when we did the fight? But this… it's soft, happy._ _I guess we've got to wing it again._ He grinned, grabbing both of her hands and spinning her.

Hermione felt the warmth of her imaginary partner's hands and ran her hands up his arms, gripping his shoulders and holding him closer. She slid her arms around his neck and slid her fingers into his hair as they spun, spiraling towards the center of the stage. The music changed again, switching back to what they knew. They spiraled apart and together again as the last strain of music played.

_And if I could tell you/all that I want to/I'd live until the end of time/_

Ron swallowed, preparing for the final portion of the dance. He dipped Hermione again, then pulled her back up, closing his eyes.

_for I'd be in heaven/hearing the angels sing/and I'd have you by my side/_

He put his hands on either side of her face, massaging her cheeks lightly, just below her eyes. He opened his eyes again, whispering, "Hermione, open you eyes. This is real."

_I'll love you 'til the end of time/_

Hermione's eyes fluttered open, her lips puckering slightly, her eyes holding a look Ron had never held before. She raised her hands to his head and pushed her fingers through his hair again, pulling him closer.

Colin, taking pictures in the shadows, almost dropped his camera. He quickly took a few more pictures, then turned tail and ran for the common room. _These pictures ought to grab decent attention. _He snickered as he ran off to develop the evidence.

_until the end of time/_

The two lovebirds broke apart, eyes wide and faces flushed. "R-real?" Hermione was shaking slightly, gripping Ron's shirt in order to remain standing.

"Y-yeah," Ron stuttered, nodding, "real."

"I'm so sorry, Ron… I-I got caught up in the dance… and my imagination." She bowed her head.

"W-well, I did kiss you onstage," Ron replied, ears red, "so I guess we're even…." Hermione smiled at him, looking up through her eyelashes. Ron's ears burned more violently and he let go of her. "Sorry for interrupting your dance, Hermione. I'll get going now…." He turned around and began to walk away from her, hating what he believed he had to do. He felt a small tugging on the back of his shirt.

"Ron, you don't have to go if you don't want to." Hermione was looking at the ground, her hand gripping his shirt. "I'd like to dance with you more. We haven't had a lot of time to spend together this year."

Ron grinned as Hermione glanced up at him. "True," he said, taking a step back from her and bowing. "May I have this dance?" He offered her his hand

Hermione curtsied. "You may have this dance." _…and all the rest, if you want them._ She took his outstretched hand and began to dance.

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A week later at the breakfast table, owls arrived for Ginny, Lavender, and Parvati. Lavender and Parvati had each received a different picture of the two of them dancing. The two, having turned into slight Romione fan girls, squealed and compared pictures.

Ginny opened her envelope and laughed aloud. She showed her many pictures to Harry, who snickered and muttered something along the lines of "Finally." Ron and Hermione were embracing the last one and it was quite obvious what the two were doing with their lips. Ginny glanced across the table at Hermione and caught her eye. "Busted," she mouthed. "You two together yet?"

Hermione sighed and shook her head. She mouthed back, "Maybe sometime soon."

"How soon is soon?" Ginny mouthed.

Hermione shrugged, her eyes both tired and hopeful. She stood up and said, "Maybe by the end, Gin, maybe by the end." She walked off towards Gryffindor Tower, presumably to awaken the sleeping Ron.

**Well, I hope you liked it! Please review, even if it is only to yell at me! :D**

**Have a magical day!**


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